//------------------------------// // Chapter 57: One Morning // Story: A Long Way to Fall // by Cinders of War //------------------------------// "It's a shame I never got to meet Glimpse." Morning Blade adjusted the eyepatch on her face. "I heard she was fast. That's why she was a Raider. Leader of them, in fact." "But Canterlot, huh?" Twilight looked all around the room. "She's in this city somewhere." "That she is, Twilight." Morning Blade smiled. At least Glimpse had gotten away from all this before things started getting worse, like Sombra killing most of the Assassins in all the bureaus. Morning had thought they had it the worst, but none of the other bureaus had survivors; she could count herself lucky that she was even sitting here, telling her story. "So... Fire Frenzy... Did he...?" Twilight held her pencil over her paper, biting her lower lip in anticipation and dread. Morning sighed and nodded. "I think it's better I spare you the details of what happened. At least, in record for what happened. I wasn't there. Though... Here, why don't I just continue and you'll see what we have." One week later High Noon and Windy Sails strolled down the paved walkways of Canterlot, a small city where nothing much really ever happened. In fact, there was so little significance to the place that the Templars rarely ever came to this city, giving the two Assassins the perfect chance to scout out potential recruits. After Glimpse had left, the Mentor had sent them to the city to make sure she was alright, but also to find a good replacement. High Noon and Windy had donned simple clothing to fit in. Noon wore a simple buttoned up jacket over a blue collared shirt and jeans, while Windy wore a white polo shirt over a green skirt. High Noon wanted to tell her she was really pretty, but he couldn’t build up enough courage to do so. Pierce had already given them Glimpse’s home coordinates, allowing them to locate her house without too much trouble. It was in the suburbs, away from the main city. A short bus ride was all it took for them to arrive there. Noon paid the fare and they got out. The place was just how he liked it. Houses outlined the streets, a good distance between each other, and it didn’t seem to be a crowded place. High Noon liked small towns where everyone knew everyone. It just made life easier if he could have that. “So, where are we headed?” Windy asked, following behind him. “Pierce said it was number five, so let’s look for that.” The two Assassins followed the street, looking around using their eagle vision, just in case Glimpse happened to be out on the streets. They didn’t want her seeing them, did they? Noon made sure to look into the houses, just in case. Glimpse was a friendly enough Assassin; she might’ve already made friends in her neighbourhood. There was still no sign of her, but soon, the two of them arrived outside her supposed house, number five. It was a simple one storey house, with a garage extension like the rest of the other ones down the lane. Noon focused his eagle sense and peered inside, looking for signs of his old friend. Soon he found her, a blue glowing form seated by a table with what looked like a cup of coffee in her hands. She wore her signature red sleeveless top, along with a pair of black shorts. “Found her,” he told his partner. “She seems to be fine.” “Oh. Well, that’s good I suppose…” Windy meekly smiled. “I’m glad she’s getting used to this new life.” “Yeah…” High Noon would’ve loved to live like that too. A normal home, a normal life; it would’ve been nice if he had Windy by his side too. “Glad she’s safe. Now, shall we look for a replacement? Mentor wants us to find someone fast like Glimpse.” “Where should we start?” Windy looked around. There was no one else on the streets except for an old man walking his dog on the opposite side of the street. “Well, where can we find a big space full of people…” “How about that?” Windy pointed to the shape of a taller building they could see over the top of the houses further away. “That looks like a big place.” High Noon nodded as both made their way through the streets, navigating closer towards the building. “Noon?” Windy pulled on his sleeve, getting the cowboy to turn to her. “I don’t m-mean to be rude or anything b-but… Is finding a replacement such a good idea? I mean, we’ve been taking a lot of beatings from the Templars lately.” High Noon knew the truth in her words. If Mirror Match wanted to, she could devastate the whole Brotherhood with ease. In the last few months, they had lost more Assassins than Noon had ever known since his first day in the Brotherhood. Broadside and Fire Frenzy had gone the hard way, suffering till the end from that incurable venom Mirror had. “I know it might not seem like such a good idea… but without new Assassins, we’re going to go dry.” Windy looked down, afraid of what was coming. High Noon was too, but he had to look strong, if only for her. Noon clenched his fists. If only I could tell Windy how I felt about her… “We’ll pull through, Windy. I won’t let the Templars harm you.” “Thanks, Noon,” she smiled, her face forming shades of red. The two Assassins arrived just outside the large purple building, crossing the road to a statue and a golden upside down horseshoe with a ‘C’ in the middle of it. in the middle of the lawn. It was of white stone; a horse by the looks of it, standing on it’s hind legs on top of a base. “Looks like a fine establishment,” High Noon whistled while marveling at the architecture. “Wonder what this place is.” Noon walked over to the golden figure and examined the small words embedded in the base. “Canterlot High School. Huh… It’s just a school.” “I-is this really a good idea?” Windy shook, unsure if it was a good question to ask. “Well,” High Noon put his hands in his pockets. “It’s a place to start. We’ll make sure to only talk to the seniors, I guess. Don’t want to get them into our business if they’re still too young after all.” Noon and Windy hesitantly walked towards the school building, unsure if getting kids into their war was the right thing to do. “We can’t just walk into the building, can we?” Windy looked to the glassy front doors. Some students walked about within, probably heading to their next class. “Perhaps there’s an outdoor field area? We could check there,” Noon suggested with a shrug. “I’m sure we’re allowed to watch. Actually, that’s a good idea! We can find someone quick to replace Glimpse.” They walked around the school block, High Noon leading the way. Windy seemed like she really didn’t want to have anything to do with the school here, but Noon knew they had to, so for once, he took the initiative. The area was relatively small, only containing a soccer and baseball field, while a track surrounded the soccer field. A few students were doing laps, while a few more were having a friendly soccer match. “The running ones look promising.” The Mentor wanted someone fast. What better people to look at than the runners? “Come on, Windy. Let’s see if they wanna talk.” Windy followed behind the cowboy, but gently held on to the back on his right arm. High Noon put a hand on one of hers and squeezed it, assuring her that he was here with her. Three of the runners turned to look as High Noon and Windy Sails approached them. One stopped and began catching her breath before slowly walking towards the Assassins. She had white hair with green streaks, tied up into a braid behind her back. She took deep breaths, but began slowing her breathing down as she began maintaining her heart rate. “Yes, do you need something?” she asked. High Noon was impressed. For a student, she had quite a good amount of stamina to recover so quickly. “Uh, y-yes, that’s right. We do,” High Noon quickly sputtered. He’d never thought it was going to be so easy to start talking to someone. “You s-see, uh, we’re actually here on a job recruitment.” “Y-yes. What he said,” Windy tried to help Noon. The cowboy flashed her a smile of gratitude. “We’re l-looking for s-some people to j-join us.” Windy realized she had no idea what to say, instead, grabbed Noon’s arm tighter and leaned further behind him. “Right.” Noon rubbed the back of his head and tried to look as convincing as he could for the girl. “You see, we’ve lost a lot of people lately, and… we kinda need to replace them. People to fill in the spots, you know.” “What kind of job is this?” the green-skinned girl folded her arms. “I can’t give you an answer if I don’t even know what I’m signing up for.” The runner seemed like a decent enough girl. High Noon decided to take the chance and walked a few steps away. “Do you think you can come this way? What we do is… a little… odd to most people.” The girl shrugged and headed after them. “You think she’s a good one?” High Noon leaned over to whisper in Windy’s ear, startling his apprentice. “W-why not?” she replied, her cheeks changing colour as she realized how close Noon’s face was to hers. “So, what’s your name?” Noon asked after stopping behind the bleachers. “I’m High Noon, and this is Windy Sails.” “Morning Blade,” she nodded. “That’s… an interesting name for a student.” “Well, most people were students once,” Morning Blade looked up at the sky. “So what’s this job you want to talk to me about? I still have a few miles to go.” “Right.” Noon looked around to make sure the coast was clear. “You see, we’re… Assassins. We’re fighting a war with another secret group of people known as the Templars.” “Assassins?” Morning Blade raised an eyebrow. “Now, it might sound rather crazy, but it’s the truth. Now, these Templars, they plan on enslaving the entire world, ruling over everyone with this artifact they have. Our job is to make sure it never happens, and if possible, destroy them.” “So… basically, you guys are like heroes or something?” Noon looked to Windy and chuckled. “Well, if you put it like that. But we’re not that good. We’ve all killed people for the wrong reasons, well… not Windy here. She’s the best of us.” Windy widened her eyes as her cheeks flushed. She quickly looked away, trying to hide it from the student. “Do I have a choice?” Morning Blade began pacing along the grass. “You’ve told me all this. If I say no, do you have to kill me?” “No no, of course not,” Noon quickly waved his hands in front of her. “It’s a choice. Whether you want to help us or not is entirely up to you. We’re just saying, we fight to keep the world safe from the Templars. But… Know that we need you and anyone else we can find. Things are taking a turn for the worse.” “Sounds like a really hard task. How do I know you’re telling the truth and not just trying to swindle me?” Morning Blade stared at them, waiting for an answer. High Noon looked to Windy, and Windy looked to High Noon. “S-should we j-just show her?” Windy whispered. “Guess so…” High Noon turned back and smiled at Morning. “Here. All Assassins have these...” He raised an arm up and flexed it, suddenly shooting his hidden blade out from his sleeve, startling Morning Blade. “...What?” she asked as she took a reflexive step back. “Yeah, uh, these are the weapons we use,” High Noon said as he sheathed his blade. “So, for real? You fight for the world and all that?” High Noon nodded and scratched at his beard. “Yeah. That’s all true. If we weren’t doing so, I’m afraid the Templars would already have what they want. Complete domination. The whole world submitting to one leader.” Morning nodded and looked back to her track team running around. “I better get back to practice, but… I’ll think about it. How do I find you when I’ve decided?” High Noon pulled out a piece of paper and tore off a portion of it. Windy handed him a pen and he quickly scribbled down his number with his name above it. “You can call me at this number. I’ll relay your message to our Mentor. She’s the one in charge.” “Right. Well, I’ll be sure to give you an answer soon, but it’ll have to wait till I graduate of course,” she smiled at them before walking back to the track. “Don’t want to ruin my studies to save the world.”